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Century Bomber
"Just give us a target, and we're on our way!" :- Century Pilot Tactical Analysis * Carpet bombing: The Century is intended for use against enemy strongholds, as its bomb load-out makes up for a lack of overall accuracy with a great deal of punch. A given bomber tends to release its payload leading up to its coordinates, to ensure the maximum number of bombs is on target. * Bring an entourage: While the Century is respectably swift for a heavy bomber, it is of course slower than, say, a Soviet air superiority fighter. The Century is able to shrug off some anti-aircraft fire en route to its destination, but ultimately requires support to continue operating in enemy airspace. * Plenty of parachutes: Infantry loaded in a Century Bomber are always prepared to deploy via parachute. Parachutists of course are vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire. After several incidents of blue on blue fire, the Century can now only act as a troop transport or bomber, not both, on a single flight. * Like the Skyfortresses of old: Century Bombers have been tasked with riskier and riskier deep strike missions into hostile air space and there isn't always enough F-11s to go around for each sortie. Elite Century crews have had their bombers upgraded with radar guided 25mm "Chariot" autocannons in the previously unused tail station when they carry out these demanding missions. WWIII Operational History As imminent threat of a third World War engulfed the Allied nations, military strategists sought to develop preventative measures against Soviet attack. Their plan: to maintain squadrons of long-range bombers in contested airspace literally at all times, such that any Soviet aggression could promptly be countered by bombing runs against high-value Soviet targets. Theoretically, at least, this would make the Soviet Union think twice before overstepping its bounds. Of course, up until the Third World War, the Allies had no aircraft fit for the job, for they needed a long-range bomber with maximum fuel efficiency and good-enough amenities to support an in-flight team for weeks at a time. And after numerous design bids from all around the world, the American-made B-2X Century Bomber emerged as the clear winner, and was put into full production in Allied airbases worldwide. This wedge-shaped strategic bomber can carry more than enough iron bombs to level an entire city block -- or a heavily fortified enemy compound. The Century is also sturdy enough to hold its own in enemy airspace, thanks to a heavily armoured exterior. Redundancy and fire-proofing in the engine compartments help make the Century very good at returning to base in one piece. What's more, its large cabin also makes it an effective troop transport, suitable for paradropping infantry squads deep behind enemy lines. Another of its many advantages versus older bombers is its VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) engine configuration, which facilitates operations in urban environments and speeds ammunition load-out and troop deployment. Note, however, that it still is intended to fly with escort craft, as current models carry no defences (apart from their bombs) in order to cut weight and costs. The Century's destructive potential is remarkable, though naturally the craft must return to base to rearm in between bombing runs. It is rumoured that the Allies have struggled with this inefficiency, and now are working on a solution in the form of a highly-advanced bomb fit only for a Century-sized aircraft. Such a bomb, it is promised, could cause widespread devastation thousands of times greater than a standard payload, essentially eliminating the need to make multiple bombing runs against a given target. Soviet information ministers note that the Allies likely leaked this information themselves, in a laughable attempt to instill fear, and recently denounced the Century Bomber and these rumours as a "pitiable and unimpressive response to our majestic fleets of Kirov Airships." In truth, the Century bears little resemblance to the Kirov. It is a faster, more tactical craft. To fly a Century Bomber has quickly become a source of great pride for many Allied airmen, especially those hailing from airbases in the bomber's home state of Texas (where it's affectionately known as the "Flying Bull"). In turn, Century pilots are some of the best in the world: They're known for being cool under pressure and for bearing the burden of their responsibility with plenty of wry humour. Though the Century is highly unlikely to explode in midair, this aircraft is fitted with so many sophisticated systems that it is designed to detonate and explode on impact, should it crash. As a result, the Allies' opponents have yet to recover any data from the few Centuries that have gone down. Post-War Operational History Ordinarily, Century Bombers are supposed to always have a complement of Apollo Fighters or equivalent fighter craft guarding them while making their runs. However, with the recent Confederate uprising and other threats around the world making ambushes (especially in Texas) against the heavy bombers more prominent, select wings of Centuries are being equipped with remote-controlled tail-mounted 25mm "Chariot" autocannon turrets as a deterrent against enemy fighters. After one such ambush resulted in the Century bombardier panicking and dropping both paratroopers and bombs onto the same LZ at the same time, Allied Command has ordered that bombs were never to be carried on the same sortie as a paradrop. Ground crews have since been trained to unload bombs without loss of airtime, and the capacity for paratroopers has been increased from 5 to 10 since there is more room without the bombs. Additionally, post-war analysis of the effectiveness of temporary forward airbases has concluded that though such airbases are suitable for supporting most aircraft, Century bombers were problematic for the space limited airbases to maintain, due to their size and weight. In light of this, Century bombers are now to be constructed and supported from the specialised Strategic Air Command field airbases, which are better equipped to handle Centuries. Among other things, Centuries can safely carry a larger payload when operating out of these airbases, allowing them to inflict more destruction on their bombing runs. Just the Stats Category:Units Category:Units Originating from the United States